TV card guidebook

With a TV card the PCto the multifunctional TV set

A PC can usually have more than one TV, With a TV card (also called TV card), the PC can be a TV that offers many more options and features than an ordinary TV set. TV cards are usually designed for Windows PCs. They are plugged into a PCI slot in the computer case so that their connections can be accessed from the outside. Newer TV cards are usually digital TV cards with stereo sound. They are available in different versions for cable television reception, aerial television reception and satellite television reception and are also available in combinations. That is, these TV cards dominate several types of reception. About the corresponding connection is the selected TV card Connected to the cable connector, the satellite receiver or the antenna connector using the supplied cable. Using the television tuner of the TV card, the PC can then receive like a television high definition television pictures of private and public channels. In addition, some television cards are also capable of receiving broadcast programs. Most recently, TV cards are also available for Mac computers that have a PCI slot.

Setting the TV card software

The TV and radio programs that the PC can receive thanks to the TV card are played using related software similar to a TV Media playerIs working. The TV program can be viewed either in a small window or in full screen mode. An infrared remote control, included with the TV card, allows you to remotely select a station so that the computer screen looks like a TV from the TV sofacan be viewed from. Alternatively, the TV card software can also be used with the mouse and keyboardserve. The software finds the available transmitters automatically at first startup. Afterwards, the channels can be selected by pressing a button or mouse click. Also, a program search with the display of all running programs in small windows is possible. After clicking on the window with the desired program, the corresponding program appears in full screen mode. if the TV card If you also receive radio programs, all favorite stations can be saved in the radio software so that they can be called up later with a mouse click.

Special features of the TV card software

In addition to the television reception, the TV card software offers many advanced features. For example, snapshots can be easily created from the current TV program and saved as image files on the PC. For TV broadcasts that are broadcast in bilingual sound, the desired soundtrack can be controlled. Some feature films are broadcast in the original language and in German. Interested people can then watch a film in French, for example. In addition to television pictures, TV cards also receive subtitles and video texts that can be accessed via the TV card software. In addition, TV programs can be recorded. The resolution and the image format of the recordings are freely selectable, so that the size of the resulting video file can be determined by the user himself. The number of pixels can be set so that DVD-quality recordings are possible.

The hardware requirements for a TV card

For receiving and playing TV channels with a TV card, a PC on the Pentium level is sufficient. For recording TV programs and recording and saving high-quality videos, a PC with at least Pentium III with a minimum of 4 GB of RAM is required. In addition, storing the video files requires a lot of hard disk space, so a hard drive capacity of around 250 GB is recommended for the effective use of all the features of the TV card. Most TV cards allow you to watch TV programs with a time delay. The program is stopped and recorded in the background to be viewed later. Saving the program contents requires high hard disk capacities.

Advantages of a TV card

Watching TV on the Internet is no longer a problem with the availability of faster and cheaper Internet connections. But not everywhere is fast internet available and an online connection is never completely (virus-) secure. With a TV card, TV programs can be received and recorded completely independently of the Internet. In addition, no Internet costs are incurred. Another advantage is the high and consistent picture quality when receiving the available TV channels.